Sunny Notes: 11.19.26 - Tracing Our Roots

This past Sunday, we took some time to trace our roots, exploring the history of our congregation, our relationship with our partner church in Magyarszovat, Transylvania, Romania, and our faith tradition itself. If you weren't there, I encourage you to check out the recording on YouTube, which features some incredible music, including Kevin Allen-Schmid belting out a few songs in Hungarian! 

While BUF has maintained a relationship with its partner church in Magyarszovat since the early 1990s, our tradition's Unitarian roots extend all the way back to Transylvania in the 1550s and King John Sigismund's Edict of Religious Tolerance. Though King Sigismund identified as a Unitarian, he nevertheless allowed “that each person maintain whatever religious faith he wishes.” Such explicit religious tolerance was revolutionary at a time when imprisonment, torture, and death over theological differences were commonplace (including one important Unitarian ancestor I mentioned, Michael Servetus, who was executed in 1553 for his anti-Trinitarian theological writings). 

All this to say, our roots run deep, making possible vibrant growth in the present and future. Though there is much to lament in our current day and time, we do have a legacy worth celebrating. This Sunday, November 23, as we come together for “A Litany of Thankfuls,” let us remember and be thankful for all those who came before us who made possible our “free and responsible search for truth and meaning” (a phrase that appears in both our Unitarian Universalist 4th Principle, as well as our shared value of Pluralism). 

— Sunny Joy McMillan, J.D., M.Div. 

P.S. One of our dedicated volunteers, Doug Branson, helpfully brought to my attention that this is a time of year when we will likely see an uptick in text and email scams. You may receive texts and emails from a scammer using my name (Sunny McMillan) asking 

you to buy gift cards, or send a copy of the directory, or to call me about something urgent. Variations of this scam are targeted at congregations of every stripe, all across the country, as described in a previous issue of UU World magazine.

Please know this: BUF staff and volunteers will never send you an email or text asking you for money, bank account info, or credit card numbers. To make contributions electronically, you have to initiate the contact—either by calling us, or through our website, or in person. If you are ever in doubt about a suspicious call or message, do not respond. Contact us directly to check out anything you’re unsure of.